Madras High Court Blasts Vijay and TVK Over Karur Stampede, Orders SIT Probe

The Madras High Court on Friday sharply criticized Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and its chief, actor-turned-politician Vijay, over last week’s Karur stampede that killed 41 people, calling it a “huge man-made disaster.”

Justice N. Senthilkumar, hearing a public interest litigation on the tragedy, ordered the formation of a special investigation team (SIT) under IPS officer Asra Garg to investigate the incident. The court also directed the Tamil Nadu government to prohibit political rallies and roadshows on state and national highways until clear Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are established.

The stampede occurred on September 27 at Velusamypuram near Karur, when over 60,000 attendees surged past barricades as Vijay took the stage. Many of the deceased were women and children who had traveled from across the state to attend the rally.

Without naming Vijay directly, Justice Senthilkumar said the party leadership abandoned its supporters. “The main leader too fled from the scene of occurrence, and vanished,” he remarked, criticizing the absence of remorse for the victims. “What kind of party is this? Everybody in the party fled from the place…This shows the mental state of the leader.”

Calling the incident one of the worst recent tragedies, the judge questioned why only two arrests had been made so far and why accountability measures seemed inadequate. He flagged video evidence showing vehicles running over two-wheelers during the rally, asking, “Is this not a case of hit and run?”

The court also censured the lack of basic facilities such as drinking water and preventive crowd-control measures, noting that the state should have been more cautious even if the rally date was advanced without notice.

Justice Senthilkumar instructed the state to enforce stricter rules for political gatherings and confirmed that the SIT, led by Inspector General Asra Garg, would investigate the lapses that contributed to the tragedy.